← Touch

The Number of Cheek Kisses in Brazil

The number of greeting cheek kisses varies by Brazilian region: one in São Paulo, two in Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais, up to three in Bahia and other states.

Category : TouchSubcategory : salutations-tactilesConfidence level : 3/5 (documented hypothesis)Identifier : e0169

Meaning

Target direction : A warm, friendly greeting between acquaintances. The number of kisses depends on the region, gender (men often shake hands with each other), and degree of familiarity. Usually initiated by women; men kiss women but typically shake hands with other men.

Interpreted meaning : A foreign visitor who gives only one kiss in Rio (instead of two) may seem cold or distant. Conversely, a Brazilian abroad who attempts a second kiss where only one is expected can cause an awkward moment. Men shaking hands rather than kissing each other is sometimes misread by visitors from cultures where men also exchange cheek kisses.

Geography of misunderstanding

1. Regional map: how many cheek kisses in Brazil?

Brazil has no single national standard for the number of cheek kisses used as a greeting. Argyle (1988), in Bodily Communication, emphasizes that physical contact behaviors within a single national culture can vary significantly by region, history, and socio-economic context — Brazil illustrates this particularly clearly. The commonly documented distribution is: São Paulo (and the state of São Paulo generally): 1 kiss — associated with the commercial pace and cosmopolitanism of the metropolis; Rio de Janeiro: 2 kisses — the norm most often linked to carioca warmth; Minas Gerais: 2 to 3 kisses depending on context (urban vs. interior); Bahia and the Northeast: 3 kisses in many cities (Salvador notably); Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul, and Sergipe: 3 kisses — Germanic-Italian influence in the South, interior tradition in Sergipe. These distributions are neither fixed nor universal: in professional settings, 2 kisses tend to emerge as an inter-regional compromise. Data can vary by age, social background, and degree of urbanization.

2. Historical origins: from colonial contact to economic regionalization

The cheek kiss as a greeting in Brazil is rooted in the legacy of Portuguese colonization (16th–19th centuries), which imported a Mediterranean culture of bodily proximity. From the imperial era onward, coastal cities like Rio de Janeiro — the administrative and commercial capital — developed distinct sociability codes from the interior states. The economic regionalization of the 1950s–1980s amplified these differences: São Paulo, having become the industrial engine of the country, adopted more restrained greeting codes, partly under the influence of immigrant communities (Italian, Japanese, Lebanese) and the accelerated professional pace. Morris et al. (1979) note that greeting gestures are among the kinetic behaviors most sensitive to migratory influences and urban dynamics.

3. Misunderstandings and intercultural reading

The main intercultural misunderstanding around the number of Brazilian kisses is not offense — performing the wrong number is generally not perceived as an insult — but social awkwardness: the strangling of an unfinished kiss, or a kiss into empty air when the other person has already withdrawn, produces mutual embarrassment. For a European accustomed to 2 or 3 kisses, the single Paulista kiss may feel cold; for a Paulista faced with a Baiano who expects a third kiss, the moment becomes comical. Axtell (1998) notes that in international Brazilian professional contexts, Brazilian participants often self-adjust their number of kisses when interacting with foreigners or compatriots from other regions — a sign that the norm is understood to be variable.

4. Contemporary trends: COVID-19 and globalization

The COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2022) temporarily suspended cheek kisses in Brazil, as in most Latin countries. The gradual return to the practice (2022–2023) has been accompanied by a slight trend toward standardization around 2 kisses in urban and professional environments, under the influence of practices of large multinational companies based primarily in São Paulo. Nevertheless, regional variations remain robust in informal and family settings. Globalization has not erased the Brazilian kiss map; it has simply superimposed a professional layer that reduces disparities in formal contexts.

5. Practical recommendations

When in doubt, two strategies work well: (a) observe before acting — if possible, watch how locals greet each other nearby before engaging; (b) follow the Brazilian interlocutor's lead — if the person tilts their head and offers their cheek, initiate the kiss; if they seem to pause after the first, wait for their signal. In a formal professional context (business meeting, conference), a handshake is always a neutral and acceptable option, including between women. Do not comment on your interlocutor's 'wrong' number of kisses — explicitly correcting the ritual is perceived as more awkward than the mistake itself.

Historical origins

The cheek kiss greeting in Brazil inherits the Mediterranean culture of bodily proximity imported during Portuguese colonization (16th–19th c.). Economic regionalization in the 1950s–1980s differentiated norms: São Paulo (1 kiss, rapid urbanization and immigrant influence) vs. Rio de Janeiro (2 kisses, carioca tradition) vs. interior (2–3 kisses). Argyle (1988, Methuen) documents intra-cultural variability in tactile behaviors.

Practical recommendations

Neutral alternatives

Handshake (formal, especially between men or in business settings in São Paulo); nod with a smile if uncertain about the appropriate number of kisses.

Sources